iron poisoning

Iron poisoning

A potentially fatal condition caused by swallowing large amounts of iron dietary supplements. Most cases occur in children who have taken adult- strength iron formulas. The symptoms of iron poisoning include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, convulsions, low blood pressure, and turning blue.

Mentioned in: Iron Tests

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iron poisoning

Etymology: AS, iren + L, potio, drink

toxic effects of ingesting iron salts, particularly ferrous sulfate and ferrous chloride. Ferrous sulfate tablets, sometimes mistaken for candy, can cause vomiting, collapse, and liver necrosis. Ferrous chloride, a corrosive substance, causes vomiting, diarrhea, and hemorrhage when taken internally. Iron encephalopathy has resulted from excessive use of iron preparations.

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iron

a chemical element, atomic number 26, atomic weight 55.847, symbol Fe. See Table 6. Iron is chiefly important to the animal body because it is the main constituent of hemoglobin, cytochrome, and other components of respiratory enzyme systems. A constant although small intake of iron in food is needed to replace erythrocytes that are destroyed in the body processes.

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iron-59

a radioisotope of iron having a half-life of 45 days; used in ferrokinetics tests to determine the rate at which iron is cleared from the plasma and incorporated in red cells. Symbol ⁵⁹Fe.

iron binding

absorbed iron is rapidly and tightly bound to a specific transport protein, transferrin or siderophilin, from which it is discharged at iron receptor sites in the bone marrow.

iron dextran

an injectable form of iron used in the prevention of iron deficiency. See iron poisoning (below).

iron galactan

used as an injection vehicle for iron in young piglets.

iron nutritional deficiency

is most common in piglets raised on sows kept indoors under artificial conditions. Clinical signs are pallor, dyspnea, edema of the head and a secondary diarrhea.

organic iron poisoning

see iron poisoning (below).

iron overload

storage of excessive iron in body tissues such as occurs in human idiopathic hemochromatosis is not recorded in animals, but overload may occur as a result of excessive therapy.

iron poisoning

overdosing piglets with iron compounds by mouth causes diarrhea and death. Organic iron preparations, usually dextrans, injected in piglets can cause deaths acutely, within an hour or two of injection. At postmortem examination there is myonecrosis of skeletal muscle. Deaths have also occurred within a few minutes of intramuscular injection of organic iron preparations in horses. Sudden death due to massive liver damage also recorded in newborn foals dosed orally with ferrous fumarate with or without yeast in a paste. Asymmetry of the hindquarters in pigs is also recorded as a sequel of intramuscular injections of iron. See also asymmetric hind quarter syndrome. Bore water often contains significant levels of iron and when used for fish culture in dams may cause mortalities.

iron pool

a source of readily available iron for metabolic emergencies, probably located in the bone marrow.

iron storage disease

hemochromatosis.

iron-sulfur proteins

polypeptides that contain iron-sulfur centers capable of Fe₂S₂ or Fe₄S₄ stoichiometry and with standard reduction potential between NAD+ and ubiquinone. Critical components of many electron transport chains, e.g. in oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis.

total iron-binding capacity

the serum iron plus the unbound iron-binding capacity of the serum.

iron turnover

see iron turnover.

unbound iron-binding capacity

that portion of the plasma transferrin molecule that is not bound to Fe³+.

iron-yeast paste

highly hepatoxic in some newborn foals when fed as a dietary supplement.